'Unpredictable' state pension triple lock should be replaced - IFS

Think tank says there are better indexation options

Jenna Brown
clock • 5 min read

The state pension triple lock should be scrapped and replaced with a policy that emphasises average earnings, with inflation providing a minimum floor for increases, a think tank has suggested.

The Institute For Fiscal Studies (IFS) paper said the triple lock - the current method for uprating state pension payments - resulted in unpredictable and sometimes overly generous increases. It added that increasing the state pension age to compensate for the expense of the triple lock was unfair. If left unchanged the triple lock, it projected, could "reasonably be expected to cost anywhere between an additional £5bn and £40bn per year in 2050 in today's terms". The IFS paper, produced in association with the Abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, recommended a ‘four-point pension guarante...

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